You’re the Best, Lee Soon-shin: Episodes 45-46 [Open Thread]

I suppose we could’ve all seen this coming based on last week’s shenanigans, but here we have it: A WEEK WITH NO HIGHLIGHTS. You see that deathglare Soon-shin’s shooting? Yeah, that’s my face too.

Still, I suppose I can tryyyyyy to rustle up some silver lining somewhere. If I look real hard. Maybe squint a little. Take mind-altering drugs, perhaps. Anybody got a spare set of rose-tinted glasses lying around?

Lowlights (aka everything)

So Jun-ho breaks up with Soon-shin, who protests and reminds him of the promise he made her make. At least she tries to argue, knowing it has to be driven by outside forces, but he just insists in his sad way and pushes her away, ignoring all her calls. Sorry, I’ve got no pity for you today, noble idiot man.

He tells Yeon-ah to back off Soon-shin now that he broke up with her, per her twisted request-demand-blackmail order, and warns her to keep her trap shut about everything she knows about Soon-shin’s father’s death.

Then he actually tells Yeon-ah to value herself more because she was bright and shiny on her own, without him or anybody else. I suppose that is the sort of thing she needs to hear the most, since everything does seem to be a twisted superiority-inferiority complex with her, driven by a thirst for love. Is that being too generous? Ah, well the show’s almost over so I guess everyone’s getting a bit of a redemption edit, logic be damned.

Grandma actually worries she was too mean to Bread Man and goes to apologize, only to see him flirting with Hye-shin, and then she’s terrible again. Bread Man even asks her for an honest chance to date Hye-shin, saying that he’s working hard to put himself through college and is saving up money for his business, but she’s been Terrible Grandma for practically forty years and Terrible Grandma she will remain.

Hye-shin even appeals to her her mother and grandmother in a refreshingly open, earnest way, saying that her father already knew of her divorce and that Bread Man makes her feel happy and at ease with herself in a way nobody ever has. Woo-joo overhears and throws a fit, and vows to live with her father now.

Soon-shin and her family visit Dad’s gravesite, and that puts her in a melancholy mood that night as she sits down to drink with Mi-ryung. Which you know has got to be the first indicator of trouble. Referring to her father and Jun-ho, she cries and asks why everyone ends up leaving her. Is it just me or is that kind of a tacky thing to ask the mother who’s been begging you to have a relationship with her?

Still, it’s sort of a nice bonding moment because Soon-shin advises Mi-ryung not to drink so much—Dad always told her drinking when you’re sad is poisonous, so only drink when you’re happy. Mi-ryung admits that she drinks to sleep, and because she’s ashamed of herself.

Then Soon-shin asks to sleep in Mi-ryung’s room that night, not wanting to be alone, and it’s this terrible wondrous thing for Mi-ryung.

Woo-joo, who is temporarily staying with Dad now, catches him talking with his mistress, who is clingy and pouty and super immature. Gah. She’s the kind of ditzy fool whose voice makes you cringe just from hearing her talk. Bastard Ex Dad hisses at her to leave before Woo-joo sees, because his mother refused to give him business funding if he doesn’t reunite with Hye-shin (aha!)… and Woo-joo hears the whole thing and storms out.

She calls her father a bad person and walks home sobbing, then stomps into the bakery to rail at Bread Man for being the source of all that is wrong with her life. Any other day her misplaced anger can be hard to take but today I cut her slack because dude, her dad, dude. And Bread Man is just a stand-up guy and he just absorbs the hits from her tiny little fists like he wishes he could absorb her pain, and hugs her, and lets her cry.

He piggybacks Woo-joo home to her frantic family, and it’s almost worth it for the world’s most uncomfortable reaction from Grandma, who now has to thank him. Awk! Ward!

Despite Soon-shin zoning out on the job due to her heartbreak, she’s doing well enough to attract movie offers for her first leading role. Mi-ryung gives her a gift, which are rosary beads that an orphanage nun once gave her. Mi-ryung says she’d never thought of herself as pretty, so she scoffed when the nun said she had a pretty face and heart (ha!) and said she’d be successful. So when she got nervous on her first day shooting a movie, she kept those beads and they lent her strength.

Dinner gets cut short because Dr. Shin has bad news: Reporter Park has put together the whole story and even knows he was the witness to the accident that killed Soon-shin’s dad. Dr. Shin plays dumb for now, but Reporter Park intends to take this to the police, who’ll want to look at the black box in his car.

So Mi-ryung admits that Dad died saving her from the hit and run driver, and she got scared and ran away. Soon-shin’s initial reaction is denial, but she soon moves along to rage and starts throwing things, screaming at Mi-ryung for lying to her face and calling her daughter while knowing the truth the whole time. She calls her terrible and frightening, which, by the way, are exactly the words Mi-ryung used to describe Yeon-ah.

And then because her boyfriend was a poopypants stupidhead, she can’t even talk to anybody about it because it’s too big to tell her family and she can’t call Jun-ho. So while Jun-ho gazes sadly off into the distance and heaves sighs, I still don’t feel sorry for you. (Some noble idiots are mostly noble, and those are the ones you can still feel pain for. Then there are the ones who are just idiots in noble clothing, and they are named Jun-ho. [I still love you, Jo Jung-seok!])

Then Soon-shin misses a bunch of days on set, mostly wandering the city being miserable, and her team barely gets her excused with lies about being sick.

Dr. Shin sorta-kinda starts thinking of his family, after thirty years, which I guess is progress. For what it’s worth I believe him when he tells Jun-ho that he never thought of Mi-ryung with adulterous thoughts, and that he was way too old and knew better. His excuse about needing space sounds like just that—a bad excuse of the mid-life-crisis kind—but he finally adds that he needs the alone time to figure out what he’s lived his life for, which sounds a lot more reasonable. It’s more of an existential thing.

So Dr. Shin returns to the house, and I guess the show is going to play this whole thing for humor now, because why not? The wife is huffy but secretly glad to see him, and he’s secretly glad to be home but because of her huffiness he blusters that he’s just here to pack his clothes, and because of his lie about clothes the wife gets even huffier and it’s just this big merry-go-round of stupid.

You know how stupid it is? It’s so stupid that Yi-jung tramps downstairs and tells her parents they’re being immature. If ever there were a moment you needed to reexamine your life choices and think, “Oh crap,” this is the one, when Yi-jung is being more reasonable and sensible than you are.

Soon-shin returns home (to Mi-ryung’s) just long enough to start packing, and Mi-ryung begs her to stay, offering to do whatever she asks. So Soon-shin gives her the chance, by telling her to come clean to her family and receive their forgiveness. Then, help the police catch the hit-and-run driver.

Mi-ryung starts shaking and says no, she can’t do that, she can’t let the world know what she did (even though you did nothing wrong, remember?). Soon-shin gets angry and asks if that’s more important than anything else, and Mi-ryung says yes, that it’s all she has. Which, I guess, is true enough.

But it means Mi-ryung won’t apologize or help catch the criminal, so Soon-shin is done with her. (For now. C’mon, we’ve got two weeks left.)

Woo-joo doesn’t tell anyone about her father’s mistress, but Hye-shin knows something’s wrong and meets with the Bastard Ex, who tells her enough. Hye-shin says they’ve both been pretty bad parents (points for awareness!) and asks Bastard Ex to do a better job, and so will she, because Woo-joo should have parents she’s not ashamed of. Well, at least we got to this point somehow.

Reporter Park continues his crusade to ruin the lives of everybody, and while I’ll grant that outing the truth and catching a criminal isn’t a bad thing, I can’t exactly give him too much credit for being a good guy since he’s so motivated by malicious intent. You get the sense he’d do anything to ruin Mi-ryung, and accomplishing anything good is just a fortuitous byproduct of the spite mission.

Anyway, so he goes to the police and gets them to reopen the investigation into the hit and run death. So just as Mi-ryung decides that she’ll do as Soon-shin asked and beg the family for forgiveness, Mom gets called in by police with the good news that they got the killer’s license plate from the black box footage. Oh, and does she know that her dead husband was with Mi-ryung that night?

As always, timing is a bitch.

Highlights (if you squint real hard through that half-empty glass)

Somewhat on a whim, Mom brings kimchi for Mi-ryung. She admits to hating her at first because she turned her life upside-down, but these days she sees Soon-shin on television and is grateful to Mi-ryung for all her help. Two moms bonding? Let’s see how long that lasts.

In-sung continues to flirt with Chan-mi and invite himself over to her parents’ chicken restaurant, where he sucks up to Chicken Ajusshi. This is largely irrelevant to anything, but is good for about two minutes of cuteness.

Rumors circulate about Soon-shin stealing away Yeon-ah’s man, and then getting dumped herself. Jun-ho overhears and sets the gossipy brats in their places, then loudly makes Yeon-ah confirm that they’re not dating either, in front of the whole crew. I mean, he still ignores Soon-shin’s calls and lies to Young-hoon that he broke up with her because he got bored of her, but this kind of counts as a highlight, right? (I’M TRYING.)

After the day when Bread Man comforts Woo-joo, Woo-joo seems to soften in her antagonism. She’s still not warm and fluffy, but she is much less harsh when Bread Man tries to be friendly. He tells her that her mother loves her and will do what she wants, and therefore if Woo-joo puts her foot down, Mom will break up with him. And Bread Man doesn’t want to make Woo-joo unhappy either. So don’t think of it as getting her Mom stolen away, he says, and she seems to listen to that. Tiny, slow, tiny steps. Progress is progress, right?

And finally, Jun-ho hears that Soon-shin learned the truth about her father’s accident (which makes his whole noble sacrifice pointless, might I add) and goes running back to her. I’m happier about this for her sake than his (I’m still gonna be huffy about him for another, oh, half-episode or so) because she needs the shoulder to literally cry on, and she finally gets it.

August 11, 2013 at 8:49 PM

August 11, 2013 at 11:22 PM

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Thank you Tia, I am listening to it now. The lyrics are somewhat appropriate to Hye-shin's experience with her soon to be ex-husband. And yes, he IS going down (as the song says), and I hope he knows it. It doesn't look like he will be getting any money from mom!!! (To which I say "YAY!!!!"). I was soooo glad to see it being confirmed that he was up to no good.

August 12, 2013 at 4:24 PM

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I noticed "Bang Bang Bang" last week when they played it during Hye Shin's confession to Bread Man. Which was a weird place for it. But hey, whatever, now I have a super catchy song added to my playlist.

August 12, 2013 at 5:55 PM

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I too thought it was really weird to put the song in the middle of their confession.. hahaha but it's a good song.

Maybe it's only me but this drama actually has quite a good taste in music. the music background for the droptop cafe scenes, YH's restaurant scenes, they always play really good songs. my favorite so far is Michelle Sparrow's "Floating on the moon"..I want to have a playlist of all of the songs there but that means I have to rewatch this drama to know the songs -YIKES!

August 12, 2013 at 12:35 AM

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Same here. Thought there were a number of high points in these episodes - but then I watched it without the subs yet. Truth is, am really easy to please when it comes to the lovebirds in this drama ;).

August 13, 2013 at 12:36 PM

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Haha, I thought the same thing about the granny! Several times recently actually. I dunno though, I think she needs to stick around to approve HS and JW's relationship before she goes. I have a feeling she will be around til the end .

August 11, 2013 at 8:53 PM

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SS-JH's hug is one of the highlights for me this week. Gotta love Jo Jung Suk's hands. if i were IU i would've already collapsed on the stop due to extreme hotness. I really can't wait for his movie with Hyun bin.

August 12, 2013 at 3:22 AM

August 11, 2013 at 9:01 PM

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I feel this enormous need to just skip this week's episodes and just wait for next weeks so I don't have to sit through all this ridiculous noble nonsense and severe angst. I could tide it over before with the cute dating scenes but now that Joon-ho's all like "we're not meant to be -insert stupid self-sacrificing face-" I don't think I can even try. Also seeing Yi-jung make sense might just break my brain.

The only scenes that seem worth watching is Bread-man's storyline right now, but I don't know if I can stomach him being abused by Grandma.

August 11, 2013 at 9:19 PM

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I am telling myself right now that I won't watch this week's episodes because I would only fast forwarding through them...but I'll be watching them anyway, angst, noble idiocy, grumpy granny, and all. Strangely it feels like I would be missing out on something if I skip them, even though I have db's handy-dandy (and much appreciated! thanks for sticking with it!) guide.

August 11, 2013 at 10:20 PM

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I'm skipping the watching this week. I skipped last week too.

I don't see why I should put myself through the anguish with such crazy writers who really don't know how to tell a story.

I just get so annoyed by the fact that I'm sure everyone will be forgiven by the end – Yeonah (why did Joon-ho tell her to value herself? She doesn't deserve to hear anything, from him, from the restaurant guy, from anyone), Miryung (on top of all she's done up to now, she can't even own up and go to the police office to report an accident? She didn't do anything bad originally, but her actions now are making it into something bad. Ughhh.) and even Junho (whose noble idiocy was so idiotic that it makes me question his character and think that LSS just deserves better. I mean, there's no one in this show that has just stood by her from the beginning to the end, everyone's abandoned her at some point).

August 11, 2013 at 10:31 PM

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No, I'm just not going to watch these episodes. I'll jump back in when there are some more highlights, i.e. when at least Junho isn't acting as an idiot anymore. Fingers crossed that will happen in ep. 47.

If Junho doesn't get back together with Soon Shin in an instant I'm going to #$&*^#&$!!! (Though he doesn't deserve to get back with her.)

It's so sad, because I really like the two main actors. And because this show could have been good, or, at least a whole lot better than it is. Remember back when they touted it as being a show about a young girl becoming an actress? We have barely been getting a glimpse of that because of all makjang overload. I just look at the little, cute clips (the revolving SS and JH) that accompany the intro, and see the good stuff that never happened... Or that Breadman and Woojo could have started bonding about 20 episodes ago and could have provided us with lots of laughs. etc etc

August 11, 2013 at 10:55 PM

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I get the feeling for the remaining episodes that Junho won't be acting like an idiot anymore. At least, that's my hope. Writer-nim could prove me wrong. Having said that, I think both JH&SS, though together again (maybe on the sly), will be focusing their concentration on the Lee family learning about the accident, as well as trying to bring mama and papa shin back together. It would be really nice to sprinkle some great shin-shin moments throughout, but I've learned to expect the worst when it comes to YTBLSS so I'm not too disappointed.

August 11, 2013 at 11:13 PM

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I hope he won't act like an idiot anymore.

I was reading the soompi threads a bit, and some people were arguing why SS and JH couldn't be together still for another few episodes (something about the truth about MR coming out and that getting a lot of media attention, so that distracting news about a SS/JH relationship would be problematic.... not that one has ANYTHING to do with the other... *sigh*)

August 11, 2013 at 11:34 PM

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I know. Followed the same threads and actually understand some of the reasons some in the Soompi community feel JH and SS can't be together for a little while longer. That said, JH, at least the way writer-nim has him developed, has been pretty much a very reactive character. It's that reason I'm thinking it will be hard for JH to stay away from SS. The way that his character has been developed, he'll want to continue sticking close by to support her. Also, now that all his concerns and worries have brought them physically together again, I don't think he'll actually have the strength to continue with no contact. I think he'll spend any spare moment he may have with her, whether in person or on the phone, albeit with more subtlety than before so as not to draw too much attention their way. At least this is my initial prediction.

August 12, 2013 at 1:50 AM

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I ended up doing a quick look, with mucho fast-forwarding just to see how bad it was. I thought that the recap by Javabeans was actually being pretty nice and generous. I have never seen so much stupidity wrapped up into one weekend show.

I think that all the utter stupidity of all the characters is what made me dislike this show so much, and from the recap this seems to be one of the worst weekends ever. It is not just the noble idiocy/martyrdom that gets me, it is that so much just makes no freeking sense! Doctor Spock is screaming in his future grave.

August 12, 2013 at 7:22 AM

I agree. I fastforwarded through it but I couldn't find anything worth slowing down for, apart from the Woojoo-Breadman scenes. And the hug at the end.

I can't believe I watched 46 episodes of this drama already, I think if you add everything up they probably have less than 10 episodes of good material.

Sad sad. And I just keep getting angrier over what COULD have been, with the original setup and these characters. Without the birth secret and all the drama surrounding it, which nobody EVER asked for.

August 12, 2013 at 9:36 PM

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I do agree that ISYG is better than LSS. But that isn't saying much. Everything ought to be better than LSS. If LSS is 1.2 out of 5, then ISYG warrants a 1.4 in my estimation. A show that has the MOST boring OTP that ever existed can't get more than that. And my oh my, now 2nd son is taking back his wife, after all that uproar!

August 13, 2013 at 5:32 PM

August 13, 2013 at 10:50 PM

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I like ISYG. There are other things that keep me engaged putting aside the OTP. I kindof liked the OTP in the beginning...they had this 'bickering ol' married couple ' vibe. But this is a weekend family drama. So I think they are a bit reluctant to spice things up leading to their loveline becoming soggy... The only 'family' with a cute and hot OTP AND an equally engaging second lead couple that I've seen is 'Smile You'.. :D

August 12, 2013 at 6:20 AM

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Windsun33 posted, "I still cannot figure out how they took such a promising plot idea and managed to maul it so badly."

Easy. If this had been a 16 to 24 ep. rom-com focusing on the OTP (with a little time spent on the sisters' relationships and the birth mother thing), it could have been a great show. Look at the early episodes again, and there's definitely a rom-com feel.

But a longer running family drama has to have all that plot filler to get to the higher number of episodes, and this writer made some really bad choices in that regard -
1) Every middle aged woman on this show is depicted as emotionally unstable and the show has spent way too much time focusing on them (and just how does that appeal to the typical weekend drama audience?). Well, Mrs. Lee seems to have stabilized, but not the rest.
2) JH's dad and his middle age crisis.
3) Endless scenes of JR drinking and wallowing in self-pity (see #1 above).
4) SS and JH date for like, 10 minutes, before everything hits the fan. This drama could have used a lot more scenes with them developing their relationship, since they were the best thing about it.
5) Grandma. Completely useless to the plot,poorly developed as a character, and just plain annoying.

August 12, 2013 at 5:02 PM

August 11, 2013 at 9:06 PM

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One highlight of these last few episodes is something I love about the dramas filmed in the summer: the scenes filmed outside, where the crickets/cicadas/katydids are so loud, you can barely hear the dialogue. It's just so summer-y.

Also, it occurred to me that the last episodes of this are airing the weekend of K-Con. I'm thinking that a live watch-along (with copious amounts of soju, of course) might be hilarious and well-deserved.

August 11, 2013 at 9:10 PM

So this writer STILL doesn't know how to pace this ridiculous show. You could quite literally skip the whole of the 2 episodes and watch the last 2 minutes to get the gist of what happened (nothing!)

Honestly, if they'd pushed the JH-SS-get-back-together moment up, you could have gotten some moments of JH ass kissing his way back into SS's graces. That would have been a helluva lot more interesting than watching SS be an emotional wreck.
I'm just beyond the point of giving a damn though- I checked out the soompi forums long enough to see people raging and throwing a fit and high tailed it out before my morning even began. So I'm not upset just...bored.

This might be the worst show I've ever watched honestly. Mostly because it continues to sabotage its ONLY saving grace.
Like if you know you're a shitty show, why not take your ONE selling point and saturate your drama with it?? It's like shooting yourself in the foot, watching it heal, and then shooting the same exact spot again, because why not, right?

You just wonder if they just open the book of kdrama tropes, select a few at random and just recycle them ad nauseam.

I can't JH though because break up? what break up? they just took a 2 episode breather for REASONS (or lack thereof) really.

August 11, 2013 at 10:01 PM

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@Quinze

And yet there are many of us who continue to watch each weekend without fail. I liken it to not being able to turn away from a wreck. Your eyes are drawn to it unwillingly. Thank goodness, it's almost over, right?

I have to admit, it's been just as entertaining reading everyone's reactions to each of the episodes. You get a little bit (maybe even a lot) of everything -- disgust, frustration, anger, boredom...along with the opposite end of the spectrum because of all the shipping and fangirling over the leads.

In fact, I really liked that one comment you made..."It’s like shooting yourself in the foot, watching it heal, and then shooting the same exact spot again, because why not, right?" That one's worth remembering. ;-)

August 12, 2013 at 10:49 AM

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Hah yup. We're always drawn to things like that. We CAN'T look away! And yes, I'm so ready for this abomination to stop distracting me!

It's always fun coming back to see everyone have mutual feelings over the same crap. Makes you feel good that you're not the only lost soul attached to a really bad drama. At least your misery has company right?

August 11, 2013 at 9:27 PM

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Okay. Okay............... What a shitload of crazy this week. I guess nothing happened with Yoo-shin and Chan-woo? Not that I care all that much. At least Yeon-ah is knocked down a peg. I'm a little upset with Jun-ho, but, like everyone else I'm sure, I still love Jo Jung-seok. At least now the truth is coming out, and this web of lies is untangling. And not a moment too soon, I think. Not really much to say. Just glad things are happening that really matter, even if it's all lowlights.

August 11, 2013 at 9:48 PM

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I think the worst might be over for those of us who steadfastly, stupidly follow this show thru sludge and shxt. Only 2 weeks left, so secrets are coming out. Woo Joo's father is revealed as the jerk that he is; MR's secret is also exposed. YA won't have anything to blackmail JH with, so the OTP can get back together. Only I don't think YA will get what is her due. Too bad. I hope LSS will go back to the mother who really loves her with no strings attached.

I stuck with this for JJS. Similarly, I'm sticking w GoMarriage for Lee SW. Now I'm wishing Nam SM's char who ditched him, nothing but suffering in that miserable chaebol family, so that she will leave them and go back to him! It's going to be a long and arduous journey, for her and for the viewer!

August 11, 2013 at 10:22 PM

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@KDaddict

Sigh. YA getting her due was one of the major things I was really looking forward to. Although I thought JH calling YA and those 2 gossips out in front of the whole crew was great, I couldn't help thinking, "that's it??!!".

Now that there's nothing for YA to blackmail anyone about, and she more or less is starting to see the error of her ways, I don't see her character being used any further to move the story along. I hate to say that I've come to the same conclusion in regard to YH. What do you think, KDaddict? Do you think we can expect to see much more of YA or YH during the next 2 weeks? Not that it's important at this late stage of the game, but I was just curious to see what your thoughts were.

August 11, 2013 at 10:36 PM

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Maybe she was in the car that killed dad.

Sadly, I don't think she's going to get her due either. I still think they are going to match her up with the restaurant guy, because he's always trying to talk sense into her and doing it in a too nice way.

August 11, 2013 at 11:28 PM

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@Meahri, Hi,
We all want to see YA get some kind of punishment for having been a bitch of a third wheel that blocks LSS and JH's relationship. But it doesn't look like this is the kind of show to give viewers what they want. It hasn't done that for 46 eps, why would it do so in the last ones, right?

It doesn't look like there's much (damage) left for YA to do, unless they want to show YA and LSS acting together in some project 'like sisters' for real this time, which would make us gag on how unreal or syrupy or cheesy it is!

Match YA up w the resto guy? I hope not. He knows her too well to fall for her, and is way too good for her. I'd much rather they show him to be gay!

August 11, 2013 at 10:20 PM

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I was getting nervous about the hit and run driver and I was hoping that it isn't Junho and then Aish, nothing will go right. I went back to Episode 4 and kept rewinding until I read the license plate of the car which killed Soon Shin's dad, I read it as 7063. I laboriously went through a lot of episodes to see that Junho's license plate is 5916. Also, the grill of the car is different. So at least I feel calm about that. Do you suppose reporter Park might be the hit-n-run driver? Just saying.

August 11, 2013 at 10:42 PM

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BTW, nitpick, I know, but heads up, correct spelling of it is "Aissi" No matter how many times subbers want to put an h after an s, it's just subbers who can't distinguish between Japanese and Korean. *grumbles* Shi is not the same sound as ssi. Si is also not shi just like See is not she in english. Double s, v. single matters too.

I got docked by my Korean teacher for using shi and got a stern lecture on why this is "lazy way" and "not Korean." =P And on about it... so I figure it's good to know.

I think the sh in shin is mostly so it doesn't look like "sin" even if the pronunciation is more like seen.

You can ignore as you like the language geekery.

The whole plot at this point is beyond contrived. From the guilt of being saved by Soon Sin's dad, to the whole adoption thing, to Soon Sin getting a job in a café (HOW! I'm still asking HOW did she get a job without a registration number???)

August 11, 2013 at 11:11 PM

As for being contrived... we could have taken a lot of that, if they hadn't doubled and tripled and quadrupled it over again and again. At least they could have given us some semi-decent pacing and character development. But now I'm not even sure I can believe in Junho anymore (i.e. understand him as a character), because of his noble idiocy... it's not even that he was being a noble idiot (that I could buy, because he is the self-sacrificial type) but the reason they gave for it, when anyone with half a braincell could told him that that was a secret that was never going to be kept a) because you can't hide something like that, especially when it is already coming to the surface and b) because the people who knew the truth or part of the truth were those who would doublecross him/SS in a heartbeat.

August 12, 2013 at 5:30 PM

I can do it and break it into hangeul for you. I got this from someone Korean, growing up in Korea. 100% sure of this.

아이씨

ㅇ ㅏ
ㅇ ㅣ
ㅆ ㅣ

silent (at the beginning), Ah
Silent at the beginning., ee (short ee, not long ee... not that most people distinguish for you.)
ss, double ss as in Princess. and ee sound.

Back at the start of viki there used to be Korean subbers who would sub in hangeul and 100% of them rendered it like that.

The ss as in Princess sounds the difference between Princess and Princes.

There is technically no h sound, but I think the h in "Shin" is mostly added by Koreans so it doesn't look like "sin" But it's closer to seen (short ee) Not short i sound. Lee Ji-Hoon is more likely to pronounce it a clean "Sin"

Of the hangeul, there is technically no "sh"-sound. In Japanese there is a "Sh" sound. し is shi, for example.

Part of the rendering of a word can influence how you think it's pronounced when you hear it too, but I use the hangeul as the ultimate decider. King Sejong would be happy with me, I think.

It is true that certain consonants are more liquid (non-linguistic term) than IPA can render and actors will mispronounce to sound pouty and cute. (bian, v. mian) Ap'eo, v. Ap'a, but just like people say I did good on a test, it doesn't mean that's the correct for of the language. The Korean language college is fairly strict overall. (Like the Spanish and French one.) You won't hear "Ap'eo[sumnida]" and "bian[hamnida]" at a lecture.... do it in a drama and people will pick on it forever.

And in this case, it's just the subbers not being able to distinguish shi, ssi, si, sh. Aissi is definitely without the sh sound and a double pachim.

But as I said, this is linguistic geekery, and most likely not useful.

August 13, 2013 at 6:56 AM

August 12, 2013 at 9:54 AM

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@KimYoonmi. Thank you for the proper way of saying Aissi. But I was able to find Aish in the Urban Dictionary on the Internet but not Aissi. I am an engineering professor in the USA so I use my fair share of American S words when my calculations go awry, so I was looking for an alternative way of saying it and Korean would be good. I do have at least 8 Korean students I could practice with before I actually apply it. BTW, I think most of us in this comment section are weird (in a good way).

August 13, 2013 at 12:00 AM

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Kim Yoon-mi is Korean, I suppose, so you may not believe me because I am not but I speak Korean (quite well, according to my students, coworkers and friend, esp. my pronunciation). It simply is not true that there is no "sh' sound in Korean. There is no spelling for 'sh' but it is pronounced as 'sh' if it is in front of vowels such as 'ee" as in "ajoshi" "agashi" "shikan" "Yoon-mi" shi. I have a friend. His name is Jung-shik (shik clearly pronounced as 'sh') but he gets mad when I spell his name as Jung-shick, insisting that it should be spelled as Jung-sick. Spelled like this it would be the same pronunciation as our work for "sick' (ill), but it is not sick it is schik. I often have arguments with some of my Korean friends who cannot separate the spelling from pronunciation. For example, Korean workd for shopping sounds like shyoping, but there is definitely 'sh'. I don't want to antagonize Yoonmi, but I stand by my claim that there is definitely 'sh' sound in Korean although there is only the sing for 's' sound. It's like Italian when 'c' is in front of any other vowels except 'e' and 'i' it's pronounced as 'k', but in front the two it is pronounced as 'ch'. Similar with Korean. There is actually no 'si' sound in Korean, but it's always 'shi'. So many Koreans say Seoul Shitty instead of Seoul City. I am a grammar/language geek and I am fluent in 4 languages. Shin Depyo, Mr. Shin, not Sin-depyo and Mr. Sin. listen carefully, and you'll hear it. Also, she is not Soon-sin, but Soon-shin. Why is it so difficult for native Koreans to hear and accept? It's a mystery.

August 13, 2013 at 7:07 AM

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I don't think KimYoonmi is Korean since she mentioned that she 'got this from someone Korean, growing up in Korea'.

Anyway, I wanted to comment that in Malay it's pretty similar to what you mentioned about Italian! (I'm not Malay, so I may be wrong, but I'm 99% sure.) Like makcik and pakcik (auntie and uncle) are pronounced 'mahk-chik' and 'pahk-chik', and coklat (which is chocolate) is pronounced choklat.
While the written word is just a 'c' it is just pronounced 'ch'. And if a 'c' pronunciation is required, it would be written as a 'k' instead.

August 14, 2013 at 8:29 AM

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The vowel in "city" is a short i and not "ee". Also, Javabeans *does* come from the US... where the Korean is different from Seoul... (dialects)

I'm trusting my Korean teacher on this one. She was pretty harsh on the Korean students whom she viewed had a poor pronunciation. She grew up in Korea, spoke Korean as her primary language. I would trust her over someone who grew up in the US and learned the US dialect of Korean. I also got this lecture from another Korean teacher who heads a Korean language center and deals with Korean officials. A long lecture on variations and so-called "correct" v. colloquial Korean.

BTW, you can be Korean and not grow up in Korea. See Javabeans and GirlFriday as a case study. Where your ancestors hails from doesn't mean that the language is automatically encoded into your genes, nor that the language you speak is the dominant dialect.

August 15, 2013 at 11:57 PM

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Yeaaaaah, I'm gonna disagree on this one. You can argue all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that Koreans do indeed pronounce "sh," and that one teacher calling it lazy doesn't mean an entire nation of speakers is lazy. Questioning my ability to understand my first language isn't a convincing argument against it.

August 13, 2013 at 9:56 AM

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Now that I have been watching Kdramas for 1 yr and this drama in particular - I too have switched American curse words with Korean ones - recently i find myself muttering "Pabo" at bad drivers (read mild road rage here), at co-workers (when they do Pabo things), etc.

August 12, 2013 at 12:14 AM

I didn't even think about Woo Joo's dad. Wow. Wouldn't it be great if it was him?? He so deserves a major smack down.

Sigh. Then again, it would be more drama for Woo Joo. Even though she's been such a brat, she's had more than her fair share of heartache from her father. She doesn't deserve any more than that.

What if the hit-and-run driver turns out to be the face Junho from the beginning? The one who first swindled SS?? Then at least there would be one person from this cast of characters who would receive the judgment they deserve.

August 12, 2013 at 12:15 AM

August 12, 2013 at 5:07 AM

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Woojoo's Dad - now that i'm thinking back, at the moment we haven't seen him drive yet, right? there has got to be a reason for that, since he's supposed to be this rich bloke, surely a car is something he could well afford. perhaps he has some post-traumatic stress disorder. i do recall his mum having a bigger car - some MPV if i'm not wrong.

August 12, 2013 at 2:07 AM

August 11, 2013 at 11:47 PM

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Docster6,
I love your dedication to this show, even at this pt.
As alua said, it can't be JH, cos he is not that kind of person. Who might it be? Be nice if it's some random stranger. But when have these writers been 'nice' abt anything?

August 11, 2013 at 10:32 PM

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Episode 25, the only thing I remotely liked was Woo Jin's rant about how all the adults in her life are crazy, though I'm not fan of projecting at all, there are points where the story seems to have this inkling of a self realization where the subconscious of the writers are saying to them, "This is terrible."

That was this week's self realization moment.

I also thought the talks between the two mothers had that too... but it stopped after two lines.

=P Someone needs healing... maybe everyone?

I think this goes to show that terrible writing can spoil everything, followed by terrible directing and then finally terrible acting. In that order.

August 11, 2013 at 10:45 PM

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Aigoo, what a mess this show has turned out to be. I was pretty die hard in my optimism for it up until about episode 38, and then the fatigue just did me in. I've been reading the recaps, though. Reading, shaking my head and sighing loudly. I'm really rather impressed with IU, though. She's a decent actress, that one, and I'm looking forward to more from her. I'm still hoping, I guess, that sufficient cuteness will return during the last four episodes to justify tuning in to see the wrap up of this drama. Really, thank you for the recaps. You've spared me much consternation and hair pulling.

August 11, 2013 at 11:04 PM

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this episode was all above forgiveness.

Grandma initially goes to Bread Man to ask for forgiveness
After being caught pulling on HS' hand, Bread Man asks for Grandma's forgiveness
Dr Shin returns home to see his wife (and both ask for forgiveness in their heads but can't give in to their prides, yet)
SS goes to Dad's grave twice with a small apology in her head the first time, and a much graver one the second
Mi-ryung begs Soon Shin for forgiveness
Woojoo's dad runs after Woo-joo apologizing
Mum prods Chicken Ahjussi to make that call to chicken Ahjunma
Bread Man asks Woo joo to accept him
Mi-ryung wants to head to SS family to beg for forgiveness

August 12, 2013 at 12:42 AM

August 12, 2013 at 1:15 AM

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This is the funniest thread I've been on:
Everyone bitches about the drama, yet everyone continues to comment, and most continue to watch and discuss. I've had a lot of fun on this thread, even more than fr this drama. Thanks, everybody, for the laughs and camaraderie!

August 12, 2013 at 2:10 AM

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I think one reason - at least mine - is that I actually wasted 26 episodes of time watching this before my brain finally exploded and I quit. There is a sense of betrayal that causes many of us to continue this "love-to-hate-it" conversation, even if we are only barely keeping up with watching the show.

August 12, 2013 at 7:02 AM

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I personally gave up on the drama a long time ago...!!! ( about episode 11 or so...). Yet, I always visit this thread. The comments are so damn entertaining and funny. :D And from what I see most characters continue to be the same kindof people that they were at the beginning of the drama. ( Except then Mi Ryung was the bitch and now that I see from the posts that role has been handed over to Yeon-Ah ) The main plot ( SS's Dad's death and the mystry about her real Dad) are only being handled now. So I think I can say I have'nt missed much.. I do regret missing SS-JH couple moments though. (from all you people comments and from personally loving JJS in King2hearts and what's up!)

August 12, 2013 at 7:43 AM

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I keep hoping for the cute moments which is why I continue to watch because the cute moments are so good, but even this week there were none.

I haven't even pulled out my real snark. I think I'm in the denial that the bad thing happened part of the abuse cycle. You know, the husband hit you hard, but lalalalala. It'll get better and the Honeymoon of Cute will return. Except he's kinda hitting a lot more and doing the honeymoon a lot less lately.

Is the writer who is doing the cute sleeping? Is she/he (not sure since there is a name that could go either way and no pictures) a junior to the crappier writer writing the so-called main plot? >.<;; Did they lose an Arm wrestling match to Ji Seok Jin? What happened?

August 12, 2013 at 10:03 AM

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Lol, well I guess I REALLY am the only one who actually enjoys it and looks forward to it every week then.

If not for dramabeans, I would have thought it was immensely popular since I watch all my dramas from a site in Chinese subs (as it comes out about in 1-4 hours after airing), and this has been on the 'Most Popular of the Week' page for the longest time, alongside I Heart Your Voice and past popular ones like City Hunter, Boys Over Flowers. Even Monstar, Cyrano didn't make it to the front page at times.

August 12, 2013 at 4:18 PM

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@Chloe

Hah!! No worries, Chloe. You're not the only one. I actually like the drama too, despite all its flaws. And I mean that sincerely. I know for me, it's primarily due to the exceptional chemistry of the two leads...but if I think back, I think the rest of the cast of characters have had some good moments too, even the ones I don't necessarily like...Halmoni for example. ;-)

August 12, 2013 at 9:46 PM

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Chloe,
1-4 hours? That's just the raw video, right? No way can anyone finishing subbing an hour-long ep in that time, right?
I'm guessing that sometimes a show can be immensely popular on a Chinese site, but might not be as popular with (other) international viewers. We know that culture is a big determinant of taste, n it does vary between Chinese and English speaking audiences.

August 13, 2013 at 6:20 AM

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@KDaddict nope the subbed ones, not raw, crazy right? they're subbing at lightning speeds that i recall Chinese forum users opening a new thread just to discuss how fast it is (for one of the episodes of Gu's family book). i went to check the time difference for a couple of sites (because i realized i didn't factor that in), and it's one hour slower than Korean time, therefore the shows are subbed in 2-5 hours (not 1-4).

i'm not sure which are available in your country because a lot of the videos aren't working in non Chinese speaking countries (based on what i read from comments) so im sharing the link of one which i believe is available in most places: fhizx dot net
(most Chinese sites have url that sounds like spam but most of the time, they're abbreviations of the name. here it's 'fang he zai xian'. the 'i' is extraneous i guess! lol)

e.g. the subbed last episode of IHYV was added at 1.18am after it ended at 11pm

August 12, 2013 at 3:50 AM

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Thanks JB for the "I'm trying!". It's kind of perverted but the idea of you suffering with us is comforting somehow.
It took me 15 mins to watch the both episodes of this week: I'm improving! *Snerk*
How about working on your recipe, writers? At least 15% of sugar for 85% of bitter stuff: If you have 10 characters, all of them can't have the same shi*** day... Unless they are in a crashing plane.
2 weeks and it's over.
Let me just say it's the last 8 PM WE family drama I'm watching live: ISYG is also losing steam. Even if there is a good cast (what a waste), those dramas are not worthy of my time.

August 12, 2013 at 4:59 AM

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Sticking for this show only for Jo Jung Suk and IU. I think after this show finishes I'll treat myself to eat something fancy or something..just to reward myself for how far I've committed to a show regardless of how bad it really is. lol

August 12, 2013 at 6:53 AM

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Tia,

It switches now and again. It has been driving me crazy! Maybe they needed to tone down the sponsor's endorsement because it would have been in every restaurant scene? I am just guessing here. But, if you look back, you'll notice the name on the restaurant's back wall and the apron's change name.

August 13, 2013 at 10:22 AM

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I just wonder why would anyone waste 50 precioucs hours of one's life on something they think it's "shit"? Isn't it easier to stop watching and watch something that is more to your taste? It's funny to read all the bashing, and still the most ardent haters are still watching?! Masochism, perhaps. Just sayin'...

August 12, 2013 at 8:18 AM

August 12, 2013 at 8:35 AM

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finally someone who comments about the hug! i feel like everybody is depressed because of the lowlights this week no one even bothers about the hug. was waiting for thorned sakura but she didn't show up LOL

The hug was perfect. the way JH's hands caressed SS's hair. He slightly kissed her hair and ear... the eye contact they had with each other. so...intense...

I love how when these two hug, I can literally feel the connection they both have. As if...it's for real. not acting. lol

August 12, 2013 at 9:49 AM

August 12, 2013 at 4:26 PM

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Ditto. You absolutely won't be disappointed in the hug. The hug was so good, in fact, that it was okay there was technically no kiss during these 2 episodes. (JH did kiss SS' hair and ear during the hug, but for the sake of this discussion, I'm not counting it since there was no lip-to-lip action.)

August 12, 2013 at 5:44 PM

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@meahri did you notice he almost kissed her neck but refrained? KYAAAAAAAAAAA~~~

@dfwkimchi yeah one thing i did notice about IU she always responses back the hug tightly. like there's no air in between! and she's so petite so the way JJS handles her with care like she's the most fragile thing in the world is just so endearing to watch.

August 12, 2013 at 7:18 PM

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@Diana90, I absolutely did notice his head dip toward her neck, and then suddenly change direction. I watched it over and over again to make sure I wasn't mistaken. It seemed like he was so caught up in the scene and the moment...I'm surprised he actually had the presence of mind to refrain. LOL. Kinda wondering what IU's reaction would have been if he hadn't caught himself. :o)

August 12, 2013 at 7:44 PM

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I am 99.9% sure IU's heart tingles and flutters at least a bit when he kissed her ear. I mean-What kind of girl wouldn't fall for his charms?

this man, jo jung suk is crazy good at acting. I remember the scene after the breakup when he was on the car and cried, I swear I saw the presence of Eun Shi Kyung (his character on K2H) in a split second. I guess musical actors are just different. They bring life to the character regardless of how badly it was written. That's one of the reason I can't bring myself to hate Junho.

August 12, 2013 at 9:42 PM

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I haven't watched K2H yet, but I've caught some of JJS' scenes on YouTube. I plan to watch K2H as soon as YTBLSS has ended. I'm really torn about it though, since I know he dies in the drama. I totally agree he's an excellent actor, and I have a feeling that like @koreandramalover mentioned, JJS will end up outshining LSG.

August 13, 2013 at 3:57 PM

August 12, 2013 at 10:56 AM

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This episode was so painfully dull to watch.The characters and the storyline are finally concluding so it's very mishmash.This drama started out so promising.

The sign and the aprons keep switching. For some reason, the chicken restaurant keeps changing from Chicken - Mexi-Cana- and back to Chicken.I guess they don't check for continuity and did they lose their product placement?

Mrs. Chicken Ahjumma is the worst mother-in-law.She is so haggish and annoying. No wonder no one missed her when she left on her vacation. Probably the first time..peace and quiet for Chicken Ahjussi.

Granny is driving me crazy. Just when I thinks she going to be nice, she treats Mr. Breadman like crap. He will end up being your grand daughter's husband in the future so how would you feel remembering how badly you mistreated him? She should bite her tongue.

Is that it for Yeon Ah? Jun Ho calls her out at the filming session. I hope they don't conclude with her being all palsie and sisterly with Soon Shin after all the sh.. she'd tried to pull.

August 12, 2013 at 12:40 PM

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I feel like I'm the only one on this site who likes the show =(
I suppose my tastes are less refined than others here. I couldn't make it through big shows like Nine and I Hear Your Voice even though they are good dramas, I just had trouble getting into them. Well, working on IHYS and may try Nine again for Hyungsik.

It's just way too long. I love that it has many different stories going on, since focusing just on the OTP is old and boring for me, I like side stories. And side dishes. Lots of sides, but it's just a really lengthy show.

The angst doesn't bug me for some reason. I think because it's spread out between different characters, and not just one person going through it all like in shorter dramas. Also, I guess I'm used to it from anime where it can be way worse sometimes.

With that said, I don't think it's some award-winning drama. But I'm not screaming at my screen or pulling my hair out or taking shots of soju to get through it like others. I guess I'm easy to please :)

August 12, 2013 at 4:28 PM

August 13, 2013 at 6:33 AM

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yay! fellow LSS fans. I do think i've an older woman's taste for kdramas...i think this is a show that mums wouldn't mind watching and would fall in love with, more than for Gu's Family Book for instance. Or Queen In Hyun's man.

August 13, 2013 at 10:07 AM

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I have watched EVERY episode of this drama - both RAW and SUBBED. I know that it has problems but am sticking to it for the actors - IU - as this is her big debut (only knew she is a singer before this) - JSS (this is the first time I am watching him - will check out K2H after this) - Lee Mi Sook (what a stylish lady - albeit playing a crazy b!tch here) - and the rest of the cast.

August 13, 2013 at 6:24 PM

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I really like this show too. It might just be because I support jo jung suk and iu a lot. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos on iu's music and commercials, and after going through jo jung suks past drama roles, i feel respect for them haha. No matter how slow this drama got, I always got really excited to see these two onscreen ^____^

August 12, 2013 at 9:01 PM

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Many people are fond this show.. I read someone posted on tumblr he/she marathoned this drama for 3 days straight and managed to finish 42 episodes.. Props to that person..either that person is immune of makjang or is a really positive thinking person. Ha!

August 12, 2013 at 11:51 PM

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I like this show, too. It is what it is - a Korean weekend drama. I don't expect a masterpiece. It serves the purpose of improving my Korean skills. I can't believe that people prefer I summon you gold with its ridiculous plot ( same woman plays two roles and no one is really surprised that they are absolutely identical. I gave up on that one after 3 episodes). This drama has villains but somehow no one is really truly evil, just human. And what's happening in the plot is simply conventions of a Korean weekend drama. If we want to watch shows that actually are super exciting and make sense on top of it, I'm sorry, but that is rarely a Korean drama. I enjoy it for what it is - usually a mess but an enjoyable mess with cute characters.

August 12, 2013 at 5:21 PM

Ok, so I have officially given up on this show, finally!
Who am I kidding? This show was long gone like, a month ago. Thanks dramabeans, so I feel at least a little better and know what's going on.

I may be in the minority here, scratch that, I am the minority, but I think the the relationship between LSS and JH is just plain awkward. I mean I see the chemistry, it's obviously there, it's just that it seems like the chemistry between really good friends.

August 12, 2013 at 11:21 PM

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I love Insung. I did like him before too. But i like him a bit more now. Maybe bcoz i saw an episode of Happy sunday ( i guess that's the name) a few days back. And of course, i love his and Chan mi's pairing.
And way to go, bread man. Poor guy. Atleast he's getting his share of happiness now.
And Junho. Even though i still love him, i do want Sooonshin to play a bit after all his noble idiocy. It's a good thing, right, that the truth about Daddy's death came out soon(?)? I think i was more sad when Junho broke up with her.
Anyway, just a few episodes left. Le's get it done once and for all.

August 16, 2013 at 9:06 AM

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Haha, I also love that guy... he is such a cute boy <3 He can definitely have his own drama and command quite a following :) Anyhow it seems like he is trying very hard to woo Chan mi and I look forward to how the writer will end the story of this would-be couple :D

It's good that the Daddy's mystery is coming to an end, then we can concentrate on the aftermath of the truth coming out to the surface... how Soon Shin and her mum Miryung could ever resolve the problems between them... This leads to a path of redemption for Miryung, I suppose... She might be scorned, misunderstood, trashed by other people and how she can grow to become a better person from this ordeal remains to be seen.